OK, so I finally got sick of testing my motors/esc/props on make-shift test stands. I decided to make something that will be as close to finished product as possible and hopefully, if there is any interest I could make it into an official product.

Without further ado, I present Motor Master 5000 (as in 5000g max thrust). Here are the specs:

Right now It's a standalone product and it displays data on the color LCD and also sends data via serial connection to the computer where you can further analyze it.

It sends data in ASCII or binary format (to be interpreted in the client application e.g. Processing which I will post soon too). Here is the sample ASCII output that can be pasted in Excel and then you can do with it as you please.

Very Very Nice Piece of Test Equipment, problem is that most RCrs Are Very Very Tight with their money, I find it hard to Convince people to Buy a Simple Watt meter thats a must have to protect Their Power System investment, Good luck to you, try to keep the price down so you will sell more units, Take care and have fun, Chellie

I may be getting Older, But I Refuse to grow Up I am Having to much Fun to Grow Up LOL

Very Very Nice Piece of Test Equipment, problem is that most RCrs Are Very Very Tight with their money, I find it hard to Convince people to Buy a Simple Watt meter thats a must have to protect Their Power System investment, Good luck to you, try to keep the price down so you will sell more units, Take care and have fun, Chellie

Chellie, thank you for your post. I agree 100% with you. That is why I would like to get the price down to $99. Currently it is closer to $200 to build but I believe with the right volume (500+) that I can get there.

Chellie, thank you for your post. I agree 100% with you. That is why I would like to get the price down to $99. Currently it is closer to $200 to build but I believe with the right volume (500+) that I can get there.

I think you need a higher amp limit. I have a few 3 cells pushing 49 amps.

Honestly, I already have a scale and everything I would need to build one. I'm not trying to dog on your tester at all. but im really cheap. for that price I could buy two complete motor and esc's and a scale using my watt meter to get the exact same effects.

A marketing survey could go a long way towards finding your "target" audience.......which in turn, will provide you with more "vitals" related to who and where you should focus your efforts.

Most decent RC forums have the ability to contribute to a survey through their user tools found in the posting a thread aspects of the forum.....it's a good place to start-up a conversation and gain feed back.

Curious about the production aspect.....?.........many of the parts (equipment) needed to supply and build this device will most likely be purchased from other sources (at some cost bundeled/packaged/distributed)....and without a bulk rate discount, will keep your investment costs higher.
Also, if you intend to "outsource" the manufacturing and distribution, particularly within the U.S., Canada, Mexico.......costs associated with tarrifs/taxes of such come into play....as well as the cost required to provide warranty/customer service and repairs that will come up from customers "screwing" it up or not satisfied.......who/where/how will those "fixes" be handled and by what method guaranteed....?

Just a few considerations one may consider if the investment bank role is on a budget that is a little thin during start-up....

A marketing survey could go a long way towards finding your "target" audience.......which in turn, will provide you with more "vitals" related to who and where you should focus your efforts.

Most decent RC forums have the ability to contribute to a survey through their user tools found in the posting a thread aspects of the forum.....it's a good place to start-up a conversation and gain feed back.

Curious about the production aspect.....?.........many of the parts (equipment) needed to supply and build this device will most likely be purchased from other sources (at some cost bundeled/packaged/distributed)....and without a bulk rate discount, will keep your investment costs higher.
Also, if you intend to "outsource" the manufacturing and distribution, particularly within the U.S., Canada, Mexico.......costs associated with tarrifs/taxes of such come into play....as well as the cost required to provide warranty/customer service and repairs that will come up from customers "screwing" it up or not satisfied.......who/where/how will those "fixes" be handled and by what method guaranteed....?

Just a few considerations one may consider if the investment bank role is on a budget that is a little thin during start-up....

Great to see an entrapanuer like yourself giving this a try!

Thank you pizzano, you are absolutely right and it is obvious you have experience with startups/production (personally I am involved in medical device design/development/production) and Chellie is spot on regarding marketing survey (thank you Chellie) which is why I took her advice Already there are interesting points arising from these discussions.

As for the manufacturing, 500+ volume would provide exactly that: volume discounts and rates which would make $99 price tag possible. Eventually I will make all the software (both PC side and firmware, it is an Arduino based microcontroller inside after all) open and people could improve the system themselves. Just imagine having many people improving on the same platform, it would make for some fabulous results that everyone will benefit from.

The main idea was to remove the difficult task of manufacturing the hardware (which is always most time/effort consuming) and then hopefully there would be some people smarter than me that would improve the experience (be it software, firmware, algorithms...). For that you always need volume...

I think you need a higher amp limit. I have a few 3 cells pushing 49 amps.

Honestly, I already have a scale and everything I would need to build one. I'm not trying to dog on your tester at all. but im really cheap. for that price I could buy two complete motor and esc's and a scale using my watt meter to get the exact same effects.

Well, if you have all the measurement tools than you don't have that cost. However, that cost is real. It is easily $60 (for very cheap) to $100+ (more accurate) just for the measuring equipment. And then you need a test stand... That costs something too, and design mistakes are even more costly (that is when I really start throwing money on it to make it work )

Finally, reading values is everything but simple and if you want to make graphs (I know I do ) you really have to work.

Quick question: how do you measure power; two (super cheap) voltmeters and a shunt or a power meter? I personally purchased multiple power-meters just to avoid dealing with reading current and it is *definitely* cheaper to build it (and not very hard either).

People who would be interested in a motor test stand are likely to want to be able to test some much higher power motors... and probably will have made their own.

I use motors up to 6S LiPo (50.4 volts full charge) at up to 105 amps currently and expect to go to 18S LiPo relatively soon.

Hi fhhuber, I believe you meant 16S. The voltage limitation is not a problem and neither is the current.

Right now I put 50A and 28V but could easily go to 100A (even 200A) with 50 - 60V. It does increase expenses b/c of thicker wires and more expensive shunts, bit more considerations about reducing the voltage for voltage regulator (or none at all if you use the power from the ESC).

However, it would require stronger load cell (10 - 20Kg) which reduces sensitivity for smaller loads. Possibly bit stronger construction although it is pretty over-engineered as is.

So, for someone like you that would probably mean MM10K/20K (as in Motor Master 10000 or 20000g). I can also see the need for smaller one as well, up to say 1000/2000g (~35 - 70 oz) which would be more compact and accurate in that range.

What size prop do you use for such setup? That is also a factor in determining the size of the arm, although it does not need to be 1:1 arm:length ratio.

22 inch prop turning 8000 rpm on 12S. Burned up my wattmeter...
No testing done on 18S yet. I'm shopping for the motor and ESC for the "conventional" prop. I'll also be using it for an EDF which just needs an ESC upgrade.

22 inch prop turning 8000 rpm on 12S. Burned up my wattmeter...
No testing done on 18S yet. I'm shopping for the motor and ESC for the "conventional" prop. I'll also be using it for an EDF which just needs an ESC upgrade.

Below you said "I use motors up to 6S LiPo (50.4 volts full charge)..." My guess was you meant 16S but you actually meant 12S.

I understand 18S. Again that should not be a problem at all, just a matter of finding the right voltage regulator to produce 5V for electronics (which is what you probably burned in your wattmeter if it is rated for 100A) and even that is not the big issue, just a matter of price (something like $5 for VR versus $1).

Yes, in the Civil Enginering QA/QC application and constructability aspects. Just finished my Master's thesis on Technical Application Project Management.......and have heen involved in several small business aquarium (reef tank) production/distribution start-ups......a niche environment (market) much like your pursuit.

I really appreciate your intent to consider the "open intervention (innovation)" method for commercialization of the testing unit.......more minds involved, better concentration of "realized" application.....one thought though, the loss of "intellectual" property can be a hazard not easily overcome if to many hands are involved in the development and distribution aspects.....(based on personal and academic) experience......

The use of the "social media" and internet contribution is most certainly (today) the way to go for data collection, marketing and resource swapping......seems you are on the right track and have considered more than just the "technical" aspects of delivery......wish you the best of luck and success.......$99.00 in today's competitive and open source market place looks like a reasonable assumption.....like you said, if the volume can be maintained......and the first 3 to 5 years of production are good to you.....

Max thrust measurements I have are not accurate... using a fish scale tied to the tail of the aircraft. Over-ranged it on the 22 inch prop. 18 to 22 lbs on the 12S EDF.

All clear now

OK, how does this look to you:

Max. Thrust

Max. Prop.

Max. Current

Max. Voltage

[g]

[oz]

[in]

[A]

[V]

1,000g

35 oz.

14

20/50/100

24/30

2,000g

71 oz.

17

20/50/100

24/35/50/75

5,000g

176 oz.

20

50/100/150

24/35/50/75

10,000g

353 oz.

23

50/100/150

24/35/50/75

20,000g

705 oz.

26

50/100/150/200

35/50/75/100

30,000g

1,058 oz.

29

100/200/300

35/50/75/100

Max. Current and Max. Voltage are configurable and selectable options and price may vary depending on the configuration, but you can choose your desired parameters depending on what you need/can afford.